


Memories, Pain, and Valkyrie Cain

by its_magic13



Category: Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy
Genre: Don’t Judge Me, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Post-Dark Days, The title is bad, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:00:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23295892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/its_magic13/pseuds/its_magic13
Summary: Skulduggery has a nightmare about the Faceless Ones, and Valkyrie is here to help, just like he has been there for her.
Relationships: Valkyrie Cain & Skulduggery Pleasant
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	Memories, Pain, and Valkyrie Cain

Skulduggery’s body went rigid, stiffening with remembered agony. His nonexistent eyes opened wide, and then the dream, or the memory, or whatever it was, was over. Gone. But meditation was supposed to be peaceful. None of...whatever that was. Skulduggery sighed. Well. No more meditation tonight, thank you very much. 

He looked around. What time was it? Outside, the stars shone brightly, and moonlight poured in from behind the slightly open curtain. Late, but still with a while to go until dawn...Why were his hands shaking? He shoved them into his lap. Nothing changed. He clenched his hands into fists and jammed them into his pockets. He could feel his fingers trembling. With a huff of annoyance, Skulduggery withdrew his hands from his pockets. He looked around the room again to distract himself. Everything was normal. Carpet. Couches. Windows and curtains. Valkyrie was asleep at the other end of the couch. (He wasn’t entirely sure how they ended up sharing, but he wasn’t complaining.) Walls. A doorway leading into the kitchen.  _Golden sand. Black rock. A mountain city, carved into the face of the rock itself. The body of Batu, ready to be possessed by a Faceless One. Pain. The walls of a cave. So much pain._

He shook his head violently, trying to clear away horrific visions of Batu’s body and the creatures in the sky with their riders. But still the walls of the living room insisted on being the walls of a cave. A cave that was small. Far too small. He felt oddly claustrophobic. Cave walls, pressing in on him. Smothering him. No space to move, no space to even exist...

He leaped to his feet, ran across the room, opened the window, and stuck his head out into the night. Fresh air and open space. Well, as much of that as you were going to get in Dublin. But it was enough. Skulduggery stood there for a few moments, leaning out the window, calming down. He was fine. He was home. He was fine. He was home. 

“God, it’s cold,” someone mumbled sleepily. Skulduggery turned and saw Valkyrie blearily raising her head and looking around. “Why’s the window open?” 

“Um.” Skulduggery hastily closed it and sat back down on the couch. He curled up and tried to go back to meditating, but that wasn’t happening, so he decided to stare at the ceiling. 

Valkyrie blinked sleep from her eyes. What was with Skulduggery lately? He’d been acting so strangely. Suddenly, she noticed he was shaking. Not like his hands were barely shaking, these were tremors that rocked his whole body. Like...like what sometimes happened to her after a really bad nightmare. “Skulduggery?” His head turned. “Go back to sleep.” 

“Are...are you okay?” 

“Why do you ask?” 

“You’re shaking.” Skulduggery curled up tighter and didn’t answer. Valkyrie remembered all the times she had woken up like this, shaking and scared, and how Skulduggery hadn’t even needed to say anything, how he helped just by being there. It was, she figured, the least she could do to be there for him now. “Do you want a hug?” she asked somewhat awkwardly. Skulduggery gave a one-shouldered shrug.  _Sure. Whatever._ Valkyrie leaned over, wrapped her arms around him, and pulled him close. After only a moment’s hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her back. He was shaking violently now, his whole body tense with remembered pain. Of course. The Faceless Ones. Valkyrie said nothing, just sat there and rubbed his back, trying to make him hear her unspoken words.  _You’re safe now. I won’t hurt you. You’re home. It’s going to be okay._

After a while, Skulduggery didn’t know how long, his body finally stopped shaking. The soothing up-and-down motion of Valkyrie’s hand on his back stopped, too, and her breathing grew slow and even. She was asleep. Skulduggery carefully disentangled himself from Valkyrie, and sat back against the couch. He glanced out the window. The sun was rising. He stood up. There was some paperwork in another room that needed attention. As he left the room, Skulduggery looked back at Valkyrie, asleep on the couch. “Thank you,” he said, and although she couldn’t hear him, he could have sworn she smiled. Just a little. 


End file.
